Thomas l



VUNITED STATES PATENT oEEIcE.

'THOMAS L. DALTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ANCHOR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,356, dated January 6, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. DALTON, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Anchors, and that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of the saine.

The nature of my invention consists in the formation of an anchor having only one arm and fluke, with a curved bar or guard attached to the shank in such manner that the action of the curved bar against the ground or other impediment when drawn forward, as by the motion of a vessel, will turn the anchor to the right position for the fluke to take eect into the ground, and

also in so forming the arm or neck as toA bring the fluke into such relative position to the shank that when weighing anchor the fluke will not be likely to catch the side of the vessel.

The drawing hereto annexed exhibits my improved anchor is perspective.

A is the sha-nk, B is the curved bar or guard,-O the arm or neck and D the iiuke. The ends of the curved guard should both be attached to the side of the shank, but one end back of the other end so that the curved guard takes a helical form inclined plane to the shank. The arm with the fluke is formed by bending the shank back at (l)- until it is on a line with the outer surface (2) of the curved guard and then turning it back at (3) until the point of the fluke falls a little within the line of the shank, as shown by the dotted line at (4), or this arm and fluke may be formed by attaching a separate piece to the shank, and the curved guard may be formed by bending or forming the shank in a helical curve bringing the straight part (5) in a line with the part (6) where the arm is attached or where it begins to be formed by curving the shank.

This anchor when lying bottom side up,

that is with the fluke up, rests on two points, that is on the part of the Aperiphery of the curved guard most remote from the shank and on the back of the arm or neck at the point (7) and when placed in this position on a hard even surface it will roll over either one way or the other and bring the point of the iiuke down, and if placed on a yielding surface, as when the anchor drops in the mud, on being drawn forward, as by the motion of a ship, the action of the curved guard against the indented bottom will turn the anchor until the fluke takes eifect into the ground, and by this operation the necessity of more than one arm and fluke, and consequently a considerable mass of metal to be handled, is dispensed with.

While this anchor is being raised if it happen to be in a position so that the curved guard rests against the Side of the vessel it will slide easily up the side in that position or turn the anchor so that the under side (5 and 6) of the shank will rest against and slide easily up the side of the vessel, the point of the fluke dropping within the line of the shank as described. This form of the arm and fluke, rendered practicable by the peculiar guard, is in the best form for the greatest strength with the least metal and for the deepest hold on the ground while a vessel is at anchor or which being ancho-red and for releasing the hold when the vessel is in position of heaving the anchor, being nearly over the anchor, is well adapted to prevent its catching to the side of a vessel while being raised.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is An anchor constructed substantially as above described.

THOMAS L. DALTON. 

